At 25 years old, Noor Tagouri is proving to be one of the most powerful voices of our generation. The Libyan-American journalist and public speaker is rewriting the script, flipping the narrative, and encouraging the next generation to stand up, speak out, and step into their power to be 100% authentically themselves. And the rest of the world is taking notice.
Best known for her grassroots reporting, Tagouri is brining much-needed conversation and representation of the marginalized to the greater community and the world. She put the sex trafficking industry in the U.S. under the spotlight with her podcast, Sold in America, which has now had over 1.5 million downloads; she is bringing her unique approach to storytelling into cinema with her production company, At Your Service; and she is amplifying the voices of the unheard and unseen with her ISeeYou Foundation.
Tagouri is proof that you can fuse ambition with purpose and change the world. Read on to hear her exceptional story, where she draws her confidence from, and why it is so important to tackle the hard conversations if we want to move forward.
CREATE & CULTIVATE: You are one of the most exceptional storytellers of our generation and we are beyond inspired by your culture-pushing interviews and documentaries. When did you know that this journalistic path was for you? Can you share your earliest memory?
NOOR TAGOURI: Ahh, this is so kind of you to say. My earliest memory was at three when my dad would take me to the mosque and I would go up to the microphone and just start breathing into it. LOL. But really, my parents say around six was when I started interviewing people, anyone. I remember my grandmother taking me to her mosaic class, and I started interviewing people. One man, a WWII vet, stood up and said we've been in this class for three months and didn't know more than each other's names and now you got us all to share our life stories! I remember feeling so proud and honored they opened up to me (a kid) and knowing this was exactly what I wanted to do forever.
Thanks to the powerful storytelling you're sharing, you've also been labeled an activist and are considered a social icon. With over half a million followers you are now an influencer in your own right. How do you use your influence? How do you use social media as a tool for your message and awareness?
I've used social media from the very start to try and share *good deed opportunities*—this was before any following just on a personal side. So, my family would do grocery and toiletry runs for local shelters and other ways to alleviate homelessness (that led to the formation of our ISeeYou Foundation). I still use it for these opportunities.
I also try to use it as a way to take people on my journey, I share struggles and bumps along the way as much as I can at the time. I try to lead by example so people know they really can live out their personal legends. Social media has been an incredible way to connect with others, to connect people with each other, and to help amplify other's voices. I've also been able to use it to find sources for stories and story ideas.
“I learned over and over again to trust your intuition.”
One of your projects was a documentary called Sold in America which is an investigative look inside the sex trade in the U.S. What pulled you towards this project and this topic in particular? Why was this such an important documentary for you to make?
The topic started out as just sex trafficking and then as we started reporting, we realized we couldn't tell this story without exploring the full spectrum of the sex trade. This project was so important to me because it was a cause I had been passionate about for years. I had written papers on it, reported on it at local news jobs, worked on a clothing line to combat sexual exploitation, and worked over 10 years with a shelter that housed women who experienced sexual violence (including exploitation.)
You just created your own production company At Your Service—congratulations! What was the catalyst for this decision? What is your vision for the company? What stories do you hope to tell/share?
To be honest, the decision came after a tumultuous year of dealing with media companies, agencies, and people who just didn't want what was best for the stories we were telling. We decided it was time for me to truly own my own work so we could choose exactly how we navigate partnerships and projects.
The vision is in the name—we are a company that truly aims to be At Your Service. I believe storytelling is a form of service and there are so many ways to do it. Right now we are working on documentary series, podcasts, speaking/workshops, and consulting.
When you hit a bump or hurdle in your career, how do you #FindNewRoads + switch gears to find success?
I renew my intentions. My way of setting goals is really setting purpose and intention. If I can do that, I can find a way to execute that in all aspects of work and life. Doors naturally open when you're living in purpose.
You have always spoken up for those who can't and be a figurehead for standing in your truth. Where does this confidence to pursue your own path and not bend to society's expectations and stereotypes come from? What message do you hope this spreads to the generations listening/watching?
I spent a lot of my life trying to be like and look like other people because I thought I needed to in order to pursue my dreams. I later realized the things society deemed as my weakness, or my personal insecurities could be used as my biggest strengths. I decided to embrace it all and it was incredibly freeing. I realized every single person in every single room I walked into had their own insecurities and their own life shit. Why should I compromise my comfort and self for the possible comfort of others? Life is too short, seriously think about that. How fast has this year gone by? The years before? It's not worth it. I promise you it isn't. Just be the truest version of you in every single space. You deserve it.
Following your own path can be scary for many young people so it's helpful to share the good with the bad. What have been some of your biggest challenges this year and what did you learn from them?
Ha! This year was one of my absolute hardest and absolute best years. I was betrayed, used, put down by people I worked with and trusted—so much has happened but wow am I in a better place. I learned over and over again to trust your intuition. I also learned that building a team that believes in the message takes work and effort. It's so, so worth it though. I'll just leave it at that for now.
Muslim women are underrepresented in the media and you have become an inspiration to many who see themselves in you. What advice do you have for those who are struggling to feel seen and represented in their field? How important is visibility? And what more needs to be done?
Look to those who have come before you, who have made it easier for you to be where you are today—even if that is still difficult. We have to learn from other's experiences too. Maya Angelou said, ‘I come as one, but I stand as 10,000.’ Call on your 10,000. Speak up and know you are not doing it for you—you are doing it for everyone who came before you and everyone who is coming after you. Visibility is so important, but it can't just be visibility on the surface. True inclusion is a seat at the decision-making table.
I also recognize that tokenization and surface diversity is often a prerequisite to getting that seat as a minority. The path is never easy, but it is always worth it. We come to the table with perspective, strength, perseverance, empathy, and knowledge.
One of the main things we admire so much about you and your work is that you're not just talking the talk, you take action. You recently started the I See You foundation with your family to alleviate homelessness in local communities. Can you tell us a little more about this organization and why you founded it? What is your message to those who feel helpless and aren't sure what to do to or the steps to take?
Our work in this space actually started in 2007! We made it official a couple summers ago after we asked someone what they needed and she responded, ‘we just need to be seen.’ This was our response to her and the community. My mom started this effort when she first met a woman experiencing homelessness who ran a shelter she lived in. We asked what they needed and she said toiletries, so we held toiletry drives for years. The demands changed and we consistently asked the community what they needed (instead of what we thought they needed.) That is what my mom always taught us when engaging in service.
ISeeYou works to alleviate homelessness in many ways including:
-Creating and distributing monthly hygiene packages, clothing, nutritious snacks, water, meals and more for people experiencing homelessness.
-Coordinating monthly grocery runs for local shelters.
-Distributing grocery gift cards for local families in need.
Right now we are working on our big annual winter care package runs. Our goal is to make 500 packages this year.
“True inclusion is a seat at the decision-making table.”
Looking back since you began your career, what's one thing you wish you could go back and tell yourself? Why?
Know you're freaking worth. I've realized now so many times I was taken advantage of and made to feel like it was a ‘favor’ to me to be in the spaces I was but it was only to make me feel undervalued. KNOW. YOUR. WORTH. PEOPLE.
Also, I would tell myself to show up on time. For people who aren't sure how to get started, simply ask someone in need what you can do to help. Everything counts. In Islam, we have a saying, “smiling is a form of charity." There is always something to give.
You are not afraid to tackle the hard conversations, whether on a podcast, through a documentary, or on your socials. What advice do you have for others hoping to embrace activism in their business or daily life? How can one become part of the conversation?
I hated that people used the term activist with me because I never identified as one. I knew the reason people would call me that was because I was a Muslim woman in a hijab doing shit so all of a sudden it was activism. But I realized the way I ‘do shit’ or tell stories really is a form of activism and service. I still don't personally call myself an activist, but I advocate for many things in every single aspect of my life.
I would say don't focus on the titles or categories or whatever other limitations. Find the conversations that ignite a flame in you. It can be something that has directly affected you so you have your story to connect with others, or it can be allyship by learning about things others are going through. Anything to make others feel seen, heard, and valued.
While there is a lot of positive conversation and community online, there can also be a lot of negativity too—How do you deal with those? What advice do you have for others who are dealing with cyberbullying? What tips do you have for staying positive?
Oh goodness, it's so hard sometimes because you almost want to respond to people and say 'you don't know me! or my intentions! or my heart!.’ But oftentimes you have to just remember if people choose to hurt others online, it's a reflection of them and their insecurities.
And, I mean, many of us know this. It's a matter of truly believing it and understanding it. What people say about you says more about them. Seriously. On the tips, block people—on Twitter, I can only see the tweets from people who actually follow me—this helped a lot. Know and trust yourself. Lead by example. I try to only put out things that I know can help others or inspire them. At the end of it all, I remember that none of this matters. Live in your purpose, in service of humanity, and the rest will be fine.
What is your best advice for people reading this who admire you and aspire to achieve your success in journalism and activism but don't know where to start?
My formula to start or to just realign or reset or just to simply live in purpose is to combine the causes that pain you the most with your skills and your talents—a lot of life is in that answer.
What is the #1 book you always recommend?
Lately, it's been The Originals by Adam Grant.
Photographer: Anthony Maule
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